what you missed last night while you were flipping over taxis

Canucks beat the Hawks, 3-2: The Hawks had this game and then Willie Mitchell stepped out of the box and lit up John Toews. Clean hit, but unfortunate for the Hawks. It rattled the team and I guess goalie Anti Niemmi. The game-tyer and game winner were low stick side saveable shots (alliteration!). Cheesy line of the night from Ray Ferraro, after the play-by-play guy talked about the crowd cheering for Niemmi, "They're not anti Niemmi, they're pro-Niemmi." Meh.

Islanders beat the Hurricanes in the shoot-out, 4-3: I predicted a shoot-out loss for the Isles after the 2nd period when they were up by 2 goals. I guess I'm happy I was wrong. I really like Eric Staal's goal - making sure he put that puck in the open net. All three Isle's shoot-out goals were sweet and different: The Truth's snipe, the danish prince went top cheese on the back hand, and the future (patent pending) had a nice move, bar and in on the forehand.

Stars beat the Ducks, 4-2: Are the cameras at the Honda Center the farthest away in the league? I hate watching games on TV from there. It's like I'm pretty much overhead. Anyway, both goalies gave up goals by misplaying the puck.

Bruins beat the Predators, 3-2: This is the kind of game the Bruins are going to have to play with Savaard and Lucic out. All the goals were dirty, garbage goals. I loved it.

Sabres run over the Panthers, 5-2: Surprisingly, Bryan McCabe was NOT a minus 5 in this game.

Wild beat the Avalanche 3-2 in the shoot-out: How sweet are those Minny third jerseys? It was fun watching Boogard beat up Koci in one. It made the fight a bit more classy. Koivu's game tyer was a great tip, but I think the shot-pass was intended for the far post.

Crib Notes - Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers
Finished 3rd in the Southeast. Did not make the playoffs
Let Nick Boyton and Karlis Skrastins go unsigned.
Signed D Ville Koistinen as a free agent.
Richard Zednik signed with a KHL team.

Questions going into 2009-2010:
Looking back, was it a good idea to trade Jay Bouwmeester and not resign him?
Does this team have enough depth for a playoff run?
Can Jordan Leopold do enough to make the team forget about Bouwmeester?
Can Booth, Weiss, Frolik and Greg Campbell top last season's results?
Why did the creators of Seinfeld make Larry David's character an Italian?
Did you know that the Panther is an endangered species in the state of Florida?

Poised for a breakout season:
The Panthers had a couple of players last season that raised some eyebrows.
David Booth had over 30 goals. Stephen Weiss had over 60 points. Michael Frolik was great out of nowhere.
If Vokoun stays healthy this whole team has a breakout season.

If you had to buy one Panther sweater:
I am a fan of the dark blue jerseys. If I was an 8 year old in Sunrise I'd ask for a David Booth (with the new "A") for Christmas. If I came across a Scott Mellanby for cheap on eBay I would be pumped.

Player whose game you like:
Nate Horton is a 30 goal scorer who hits, fights and plays in traffic. There's alot to like here.

Player whose game has abandoned them:
Bryan McCabe. He's still got the hammer from the point and is a bear on the power play but that's really it now. Remember how much of a beast he was the first few years in Toronto?

Old guys:
Cory Stillman is 35
Bryan McCabe is 34
Steve Reinprecht and Tomas Vokoun are 33

Young guys:
Michael Frolik is 21
David Booth is only 24

Tough guys:
Ballard and McCabe still bruise shit up.
Nathan Horton is a wrecking ball.

Favorite old school Panther:
Paul Laus was our generation's Lyle Odelein. I don't know what that means.



Goaltending coach:
Former Bruin Rob Tallas

Nostalgia:
Florida fans chucking rats on the ice after Scott Mellanby killed one in the locker room. I used to think it was dopey but now I sneaky like the idea of it.




Interesting?:
You can buy a Panther Ice Dancer swimsuit calendar! Seriously, check out Judy.

NHL 94 players:
Brian Skrudland, Andrei Lomakin and Scott Mellanby up front.
Gord Murphy and Joe Cirella on D with John Vanbiesbrouck in net.
I don't think I have ever heard of Andrei Lomakin - honestly.

Prediction?
The Panthers make the playoffs. And this chick has sex with a dolphin.

YouTube:
Lefty goalies freak me out so it's nice to see a guy go back hand over the glove side on a shoothout attempt.



- Nemmy